Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same, circuit board, and electronic instrument

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor chip is adhered to a substrate by using an adhesive, and a sealant is provided around the semiconductor chip, on a surface of the substrate on which the semiconductor chip is mounted. The adhesive is provided to reach a side surface of the semiconductor chip. The sealant is provided in a manner to expose an upper surface of the semiconductor chip and a part of the adhesive.

Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-65234, filed on Mar. 11, 2002, ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and method ofmanufacturing the same, to a circuit board, and to an electronicinstrument.

In a semiconductor device of the T-BGA (Tape-Ball Grid Array) format, inorder to ensure planarity of external terminals (for example solderballs), a stiffener is attached to the substrate for reinforcement. Toattach the stiffener, an expensive adhesive is required, and thestiffener itself is also expensive, and equipment for the attachment isalso required. A resin-sealed semiconductor device is also known.According to this type of conventional semiconductor device, since thesemiconductor chip is completely sealed by the mold resin, the heatdispersion is insufficient.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to an aspectof the present invention includes:

adhering a semiconductor chip to a substrate by using an adhesive, andproviding a sealant around the semiconductor chip, on a surface of thesubstrate on which the semiconductor chip is mounted,

wherein the adhesive is provided to reach a side surface of thesemiconductor chip, and

wherein the sealant is provided in a manner to expose an upper surfaceof the semiconductor chip and a part of the adhesive.

A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to anotheraspect of the present invention includes:

adhering a semiconductor chip to a substrate, and providing a sealantaround the semiconductor chip, on a surface of the substrate on whichthe semiconductor chip is mounted,

wherein a film is disposed on the semiconductor chip adhered to thesubstrate, an upper die is disposed over the film, a lower die isdisposed under the substrate, the semiconductor chip and the substrateare sandwiched by the upper die and lower die, the semiconductor chip ispressed into the film, and the sealant is provided between the film andthe substrate.

A semiconductor device according to a further aspect of the presentinvention includes:

a substrate;

a semiconductor chip bonded face-down to the substrate;

an adhesive adhering the substrate to the semiconductor chip, andprovided to reach a side surface of the semiconductor chip;

and a sealant provided around the semiconductor chip, on a surface ofthe substrate on which the semiconductor chip is mounted,

wherein the sealant is provided in a manner to expose an upper surfaceof the semiconductor chip and a part of the adhesive.

A circuit board according to a still further aspect of the presentinvention has the above mentioned semiconductor device mounted on thecircuit board.

An electronic instrument according to a yet further aspect of thepresent invention has the above mentioned semiconductor device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIGS. 1A to 1C illustrate a method of manufacturing a semiconductordevice according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 2A to 2C illustrate the method of manufacturing a semiconductordevice of according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a modification of the method of manufacturing asemiconductor device of the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a circuit board according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 shows an electronic instrument according to an embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 6 shows an electronic instrument according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT

Embodiments of the present invention may provide a semiconductor deviceand method of manufacturing the same, a circuit board, and an electronicinstrument in which a substrate is reinforced, and heat dispersion ishigh.

(1) A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to anembodiment of the present invention includes:

adhering a semiconductor chip to a substrate by using an adhesive, andproviding a sealant around the semiconductor chip, on a surface of thesubstrate on which the semiconductor chip is mounted,

wherein the adhesive is provided to reach a side surface of thesemiconductor chip, and

wherein the sealant is provided in a manner to expose an upper surfaceof the semiconductor chip and a part of the adhesive.

According to this embodiment of the present invention, the substrate canbe reinforced by the sealant. Since the upper surface of thesemiconductor chip (more precisely, the surface opposite to thesubstrate) is exposed from the sealant, the heat dispersion isexcellent. Furthermore, since the sealant is provided in a manner toexpose a part of the adhesive, water vapor can escape from the adhesive.

(2) In this method of manufacturing a semiconductor device:

a film may be disposed on the semiconductor chip adhered to thesubstrate, an upper die may be disposed over the film, a lower die maybe disposed under the substrate, the semiconductor chip and thesubstrate may be sandwiched by the upper die and lower die, thesemiconductor chip may be pressed into the film, and the sealant may beprovided between the film and the substrate.

By means of this, since the sealant is provided with the film pressedinto the semiconductor chip, the sealant is lower than the semiconductorchip, water vapor can more easily escape from the interface between thesealant and the semiconductor chip. Since the semiconductor chipcontacts the film without directly contacting the upper die, chippingand cracking can be prevented.

(3) In this method of manufacturing a semiconductor device:

the semiconductor chip and the substrate may be sandwiched by the upperdie and lower die in such a manner that a part of the adhesive ispressed into the film.

(4) A method of manufacturing a semiconductor chip according to anotherembodiment of the present invention includes:

adhering a semiconductor chip to a substrate, and providing a sealantaround the semiconductor chip, on a surface of the substrate on whichthe semiconductor chip is mounted,

wherein a film is disposed on the semiconductor chip adhered to thesubstrate, an upper die is disposed over the film, a lower die isdisposed under the substrate, the semiconductor chip and the substrateare sandwiched by the upper die and lower die, the semiconductor chip ispressed into the film, and the sealant is provided between the film andthe substrate.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the substrate canbe reinforced by the sealant. Since the sealant is provided with thesemiconductor chip pressed into the film, the upper surface of thesemiconductor chip (more precisely, the surface opposite to thesubstrate) is exposed from the sealant, and moreover, the sealant islower than the semiconductor chip. As a result thereof, the heatdispersion of the semiconductor device is improved, and water vapor canmore easily escape from the interface between the sealant and thesemiconductor chip. Since the semiconductor chip does not directlycontact the upper die film, chipping and cracking can be prevented.

(5) In this method of manufacturing a semiconductor device:

-   -   the film may be more easily peeled from the sealant than from        the upper die.

(6) A semiconductor device according to a further embodiment of thepresent invention includes:

a substrate;

a semiconductor chip bonded face-down to the substrate;

an adhesive adhering the substrate to the semiconductor chip, andprovided to reach a side surface of the semiconductor chip;

and a sealant provided around the semiconductor chip, on a surface ofthe substrate on which the semiconductor chip is mounted,

wherein the sealant is provided in a manner to expose an upper surfaceof the semiconductor chip and a part of the adhesive.

According to this embodiment of the present invention, the substrate canbe reinforced by the sealant. Since the upper surface of thesemiconductor chip (more precisely, the surface opposite to thesubstrate) is exposed from the sealant, heat dispersion is excellent.Furthermore, since the sealant is provided to expose a part of theadhesive, water vapor can escape from the adhesive.

(7) A circuit board according to a still further embodiment of thepresent invention has the above mentioned semiconductor device mountedon the circuit board.

(8) An electronic instrument according to a yet further embodiment ofthe present invention has the above mentioned semiconductor device.

An embodiment of the present invention is now described with referenceto the drawings. FIGS. 1A to 2C illustrate the method of manufacturing asemiconductor device of an embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, a semiconductor chip 10 is adhered to a substrate20. The semiconductor chip 10 is an integrated circuit chip. Thesemiconductor chip 10 has a plurality of electrodes 12. The electrodes12 include pads and bumps formed thereon. Between these pads and bumpsmay be further included a metal layer of under-bump metal or the like.On the surface of the semiconductor chip 10 on which the electrodes 12are provided, a passivation film is formed, to avoid the electrodes 12.The passivation film can be formed of, for example, SiO₂, SiN, polyimideresin, or the like.

The material of the substrate 20 may be either an organic or inorganicmaterial, or may be a composite structure thereof. As a substrate formedof an organic material may be cited, for example, a flexible substrateformed of a polyimide resin. As a flexible substrate may be used an FPC(Flexible Printed Circuit), or a tape used in TAB (Tape AutomatedBonding) technology. As a substrate formed of an inorganic material maybe cited, for example, a ceramic substrate or glass substrate. As acomposite structure of organic and inorganic materials may be cited, forexample, a glass epoxy substrate. A substrate with a built-up multilayerconstruction having an insulating resin and an interconnecting patternlaminated, or a multilayer substrate having a plurality of substrateslaminated may be used.

On the substrate 20, an interconnecting pattern 22 is formed. Theinterconnecting pattern 22 can be formed by laminating any of copper,chromium, titanium, nickel, titanium-tungsten, gold, aluminum,nickel-vanadium, and tungsten, or by one layer of any. Theinterconnecting pattern 22 may be attached to the substrate 20 with anadhesive material (not shown in the drawings) interposed, to form athree-layer substrate. In this case, after applying photolithography,etching is carried out to form the interconnecting pattern 22.Alternatively, the interconnecting pattern 22 may be formed on thesubstrate 20 without an adhesive, to constitute a two-layer substrate.For example, the interconnecting pattern may be formed by sputtering orthe like, or an additive method of forming the interconnecting pattern22 by plating may be applied. The interconnecting pattern 22 ispreferably formed by plating with solder, tin, gold, nickel, or thelike. If a metal plating is applied so as to form a eutectic, then themetal bond is more easily achieved, and this is desirable. On theinterconnecting pattern 22, bumps may be formed on bonding portions forother conductive elements. A part of the interconnecting pattern 22 maybe formed as lands of greater area than the portions for interconnectinglines. These lands function to ensure the presence of adequateelectrical connection portions.

In the substrate 20, a through hole 24 is formed. The interconnectingpattern 22 may be formed to span the through hole 24. Theinterconnecting pattern 22 may be formed to cover the opening of thethrough hole 24. For example, the interconnecting pattern 22 may have aland which is larger than the opening of the through hole 24, and thisland may cover the through hole 24. Alternatively, the interconnectingpattern 22 may have connection portions whose width is less than thediameter or width of the through hole 24, and these connection portionsmay pass through the through hole 24. In this case, it is arranged thata part of the opening of the through hole 24 is not covered.

The semiconductor chip 10 is bonded face-down to the substrate 20. Forthe electrical connection of the electrodes 12 and interconnectingpattern 22, an insulating resin bond (for example a bond using NCP(non-conductive paste), NCF (non-conductive film), or the like), ananisotropic conductive material bond (for example a bond using ACF(anisotropic conductive film) or the like), an alloy bond (for exampleAu—Au or Au—Sn bond or the like), a solder bond or any suchlike knownbonding method may be applied.

The semiconductor chip 10 and substrate 20 may be fixed with an adhesive14. The adhesive 14 is provided to reach the side surface of thesemiconductor chip 10 (the surface upright to the surface on which theelectrodes 12 are provided). It should be noted that the adhesive 14 maybe provided to the same height as the upper surface (the surfaceopposite to that on which the electrodes 12 are provided) of thesemiconductor chip 10, or may be provided to a position lower than theupper surface. The adhesive 14 may be such as to absorb moisture moreeasily than a sealant 36. The adhesive 14 may be NCP, NCF, or ACF.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the substrate 20, with the semiconductor chip 10mounted thereon, is disposed on a lower die 32. The surface of thesubstrate 20 opposite to that on which the semiconductor chip 10 ismounted contacts the lower die 32. On the upper part of thesemiconductor chip 10 (more precisely the surface of the semiconductorchip 10 opposite to that of the substrate 20), a film 34 is disposed.The film 34 is flexible. The film 34 is formed of a resin. For example,this resin may be a fluorine-based resin. On the film 34 is disposed anupper die 30. The film 34 may be adhered to the upper die 30. As theupper die 30 and lower die 32 can be used the dies of a transfer molddevice.

As shown in FIG. 1B, the semiconductor chip 10 and substrate 20 aresandwiched by the upper die 30 and lower die 32. Between thesemiconductor chip 10 and the upper die 30 the film 34 is interposed,and the semiconductor chip 10 is pressed into the film 34. A part (theupper extremity) of the adhesive 14 (more precisely, the adhesive 14provided on the side surface of the semiconductor chip 10) may bepressed into the film 34. By this means, the upper surface of thesemiconductor chip 10 can be covered by the film 34. A part of theadhesive 14 can be covered by the film 34. Furthermore, a part of theside surface of the semiconductor chip 10 (the upper extremity of theside surface) may be covered by the film 34.

As shown in FIG. 1C, between the upper die 30 and lower die 32 thesealant (for example a transfer mold resin) 36 is provided. The sealant36 is provided on the surface of the substrate 20 on which thesemiconductor chip 10 is mounted. In more detail, the sealant 36 isprovided between the film 34 and the substrate 20. Since the film 34 ispressed into the semiconductor chip 10, the sealant 36 can be providedso as not to cover the upper surface of the semiconductor chip 10. If apart of the adhesive 14 is pressed into the film 34, the sealant 36 canbe provided so as not to cover a part of the adhesive 14. The sealant 36is provided around the semiconductor chip 10.

By means of this, since the sealant 36 is provided when the film 34 ispressed into the semiconductor chip 10, the sealant 36 is lower than thesemiconductor chip 10, and it is easier for water vapor to escape fromthe interface between the sealant 36 and the semiconductor chip 10.Therefore, when the semiconductor device is mounted on a circuit board,the resistance to reflow processes is improved. If the adhesive 14 isexposed, the water vapor can more easily escape therefrom, and theresistance to reflow processes of the semiconductor device is improved.If the semiconductor chip 10 is made thinner, it becomes simpler to makesemiconductor devices thinner. Furthermore, since the semiconductor chip10 does not directly contact the upper die 30, but contacts the film 34,chipping or cracking can be avoided.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the semiconductor chip 10 is removed from the upperdie 30 and lower die 32. The film 34 may be of a nature to be moreeasily peeled from the sealant 36 than from the upper die 30. When thefilm 34 is peeled from the semiconductor chip 10 and sealant 36, a partof the upper surface of the semiconductor chip 10 and adhesive 14 isexposed by the sealant 36. As shown in FIG. 2B, the substrate 20 andsealant 36 may be cut. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2C, if required,external terminals (for example solder balls) 38 are provided. Theexternal terminals 38, achieving for example electrical connectionthrough the through hole 24, may be provided on the interconnectingpattern 22. In this way, the semiconductor device can be manufactured.

The semiconductor device of this embodiment includes the substrate 20and the semiconductor chip 10 bonded face-down to the substrate 20. Thesubstrate 20 and semiconductor chip 10 are adhered by the adhesive 14.The adhesive 14 is provided to reach the side surface of thesemiconductor chip 10. On the surface of the substrate 20 on which thesemiconductor chip 10 is mounted, the sealant 36 is provided around thesemiconductor chip 10. The sealant 36 is provided to expose the uppersurface of the semiconductor chip 10 and a part of the adhesive 14.

According to the semiconductor device of this embodiment, the substrate20 is reinforced by the sealant 36, and the coplanarity of the externalterminals 38 can be assured. This sealant 36 has the advantage of beingless expensive than a metal stiffener. Since the upper surface of thesemiconductor chip 10 (more precisely, the surface opposite to that ofthe substrate 20) is exposed by the sealant 36, the heat dispersion isexcellent. Furthermore, since the sealant 36 can be provided so as toexpose a part of the adhesive 14, water vapor can be allowed to escapefrom the adhesive 14.

In the above described method of manufacturing the semiconductor device,the sealant 36 is provided to expose a part of the adhesive 14, but themethod of manufacturing a semiconductor device of the present inventiondoes not exclude the case in which, as shown in FIG. 3, a sealant 40 isprovided to cover the whole of the adhesive 14.

FIG. 4 shows a circuit board 1000 on which is mounted the semiconductordevice 1100 shown in FIG. 2C. As electronic instruments having thesemiconductor device shown in FIG. 2C, in FIG. 5 a notebook personalcomputer 2000 is shown, and in FIG. 6 a portable telephone 3000 isshown.

The present invention is not restricted to the above describedembodiments, and various modifications are possible. For example, thepresent invention includes substantially the same construction as theconstruction described in the embodiment (for example, a constructionfor which the function, method, and result are the same, or aconstruction of which the purpose and result are the same). The presentinvention includes a construction in which parts which are not of theessence of the construction described in the embodiment are replaced.The present invention includes a construction having the same effect asthe construction described in the embodiment or a construction capableof achieving the same purpose. The present invention includes aconstruction having the construction described in the embodiment towhich is added well-known art.

1. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising: adheringa semiconductor chip to a substrate by using an adhesive, and providinga sealant around the semiconductor chip, on a surface of the substrateon which the semiconductor chip is mounted, wherein the adhesive isprovided to reach a side surface of the semiconductor chip, and whereinthe sealant is provided in a manner to expose an upper surface of thesemiconductor chip and a part of the adhesive, and wherein a film isdisposed on the semiconductor chip adhered to the substrate, an upperdie is disposed over the film, a lower die is disposed under thesubstrate, the semiconductor chip and the substrate are sandwiched bythe upper die and lower die, the semiconductor chip is pressed into thefilm, and the sealant is provided between the film and the substrate. 2.The method of manufacturing a semiconductor device as defined by claim1, wherein the semiconductor chip and the substrate are sandwiched bythe upper die and lower die in such a manner that a part of the adhesiveis pressed into the film.
 3. The method of manufacturing a semiconductordevice as defined by claim 2, wherein the film is more easily peeledfrom the sealant than from the upper die.
 4. The method of manufacturinga semiconductor device as defined by claim 1, wherein the film is moreeasily peeled from the sealant than from the upper die.
 5. A method ofmanufacturing a semiconductor device comprising, adhering asemiconductor chip to a substrate, and providing a sealant around thesemiconductor chip, on a surface of the substrate on which thesemiconductor chip is mounted, wherein a film is disposed on thesemiconductor chip adhered to the substrate, an upper die is disposedover the film, a lower die is disposed under the substrate, thesemiconductor chip and the substrate are sandwiched by the upper die andlower die, the semiconductor chip is pressed into the film, and thesealant is provided between the film and the substrate.
 6. The method ofmanufacturing a semiconductor device as defined by claim 5, wherein thefilm is more easily peeled from the sealant than from the upper die. 7.The method of manufacturing a semiconductor device as defined by claim5, wherein the semiconductor chip is adhered to the substrate with anadhesive, a part of the adhesive positioned next to a side surface ofthe semiconductor chip, wherein the semiconductor chip is pressed intothe film so that the film touches the part of the adhesive next to theside surface of the semiconductor chip.
 8. A method of manufacturing asemiconductor device comprising; adhering semiconductor chip to asubstrate by using an adhesive, and providing a sealant around thesemiconductor chip, on a surface of the substrate which thesemiconductor chin is mounted, wherein the adhesive is provided to reacha side surface of the semiconductor chip, and wherein the sealant isprovided in a manner to expose an upper surface of the semiconductorchip and a part of the adhesive, and wherein the adhesive consists ofits first, second and third parts, the first part positioned under thesemiconductor chip, the second part positioned around the semiconductorchip and covered with the sealant, the third part positioned next to theside surface of the semiconductor chip and exposed from the sealant.